A Trollmas Carol
by FrozenTinkerbellPotter-Lover15
Summary: Branch is a gray troll who wants nothing to do with the festive season of Trollmas. Can a visit from five spooky spirits change his mind?
1. Prologue

**A.N. Okay, I know it's nowhere NEAR Christmas, but I was watching a video from "A Christmas Carol Musical" and inspiration just struck me! The secondary characters will either be from the franchise, my** i **magination** , **or the Crazy Party Forest app. Okay? Okay!**

 **Disclaimer: Trolls belongs to Dreamworks, and A Christmas Carol belongs to Charles Dickens.**

A lone bespectacled troll sat at his writing desk, pondering something.

It was Trollmastime at the Troll Tree, and he wanted to write something to commemorate the occasion.

Quite fitting to his role, since he was Codex, the bookkeeper.

He slammed his head down suddenly.

"Oh, what's wrong with me? Usually inspiration would've hit me by now!" he lamented.

Previously, Codex had been looking over books some trolls of the past had written about Trollmas, trying to draw inspiration.

And as you can probably tell, he hadn't had any luck.

Suddenly, a knock on the door made Codex pause.

He got up, and opened the door.

"Ah, good evening, Queen Poppy! Merry Trollmas!" he greeted the pink troll.

She hugged him.

"Hey, Codex! What's up? Oh, before I forget-" here she pulled out one of her signature homemade invitations, "-here's the invitation to the big Trollmas party!"

The bookkeeper graciously accepted it, and proceeded to tell her about his predicament.

Poppy tapped a finger to her chin in thought.

"Maybe it could be about someone learning the joy of the season?" she suggested.

Codex's face lit up.

"Of course! Thank you, Queen Poppy! I'll definitely be at the party, but as for now, I've gotta get writing!"

He slammed the door in the queen's face.

The good thing was, it didn't bother her too much since Codex has always been like that when he gets inspiration.

* * *

A few days later, it was Trollmas Eve, the beginning of the celebrations.

All the trolls and Bergens (who had decided to celebrate as well) gathered around the Troll Tree for their beloved queen to make the opening speech.

"Okay, everyone! First things first, I'd like to say MERRY TROLLMAS EVE!" started Poppy, to a round of cheers.

After the din had quieted, she continued.

"It's been an amazing year, not only for us, but for our new friends as well!" and with this the bright pink troll gestured to the Bergens.

"I know you're probably waiting for this elongated speech, but rest assured, that was my dad's thing! This year, I've decided to break tradition just a little bit. Instead of a speech, I have a special treat for all of you! To open the celebration, please welcome Codex!"

And with this, she stepped aside, and gestured for the bespectacled bookkeeper to step forward.

The watching trolls and Bergens, needless to say, were very surprised, but shrugged and went along with it.

Codex stood at the center of the speech platform, an Amplifly held to his mouth.

"At the queen's request, I'm going to be reading to you my latest masterpiece: A Trollmas Carol," he stated.

The audience cheered, for they loved a good story as much as the next person!

The bookkeeper held up a hand for silence.

"First things first, any reference to anyone living or dead is entirely coincidental. And now, without further ado...a Trollmas Carol."  
He cleared his throat and opened the book.

"Smidge was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that..."

 **A.N. Well, there's the first chapter! Read and review, and I'll try my best to get this done before Christmas!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Bank

**A.N. Here we go! Finally, the next chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: TROLLS BELONGS TO DREAMWORKS! A CHRISTMAS CAROL BELONGS TO CHARLES DICKENS!**

 **Oh, and I'm using buttons as troll currency, as that is what Trolls: Crazy Party Forest used. May it rest in peace...**

She had been dead seven years, her partner Branch Scrooge running their bank himself all this time.

And if you think Branch mourned - ha!

He cut a good bargain on her funeral, for money was all he cared about.

Gold, silver, copper buttons, being rich...and forget asking him to spare 100!

He would rather kill himself than give any money away!

Yes, he was certainly the meanest and greediest troll who ever lived.

If you believe that people such as him have no hope, then this tale will prove you wrong.

Now, our story begins on a blustery winter day in Troll Village, many, MANY years ago- Trollmas Eve to be exact!

The very day Smidge died!

Branch scowled as he looked down at an outrageous letter of complaint.

"It's not MY fault you're poor..." he muttered as he furiously scratched out a reply.

After signing it, he moved on to the next order of business-counting his buttons for the third time in an hour, and glaring at his clerk to ensure he was still working.

Branch's clerk, who was named Biggie, was in the next room over, the door being open at all times so the miserly troll could keep an eye on him.

Biggie was a giant blue troll, with a wife, four kids, and a beloved glowworm he named Mr. Dinkles at home.

They were poor, but certainly more kind than Branch!

At the moment, the shy clerk was shivering at his desk while attempting to log the gray troll's customers for the day.

He looked over at his fire, which was so small it looked like it would burn out any second.

Biggie couldn't attempt to fuel it more, however, for the coal box was in Branch's office, and the second he stepped away from his desk, the gray troll would dock his pay for the fourth time this week!

His attempts to keep warm while also focusing on his work were interrupted when, quite suddenly, an auto-tuned voice rang out.

"A MERRY CHRISTMAS, UNCLE!"

The owner was a jovial glitter troll by the name of Guy Diamond, who ALSO happened to be Branch's nephew!

Guy walked in through the doorway, shaking the snow from his coat and hair.

The gray troll looked up with stormy eyes.

"Bah, humbug! I'm busy!"

"You're ALWAYS busy! And do you honestly believe that Trollmas is a humbug?" Guy said appalled.

"I do! Every idiot troll that goes about with "Merry Trollmas!" on his lips should be boiled in his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart!"

"Surely you don't mean that! Will you at least accept my invitation to dine with us tomorrow?""

Branch stared hard into his nephew's eyes.

"...Have I ever accepted your invitation before?"

"No, but-"  
"THEN WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'LL ACCEPT IT NOW?!"  
"Uncle! I won't let you make me angry, but I WILL try and get this through your head at least one more time: I believe Trollmas to be a kind, good, forgiving, charitable time, and while it may not have put any buttons in my pocket, I believe it has DONE me good, and will DO me good, and I say, may the ancestors bless it!" Guy burst out.

The gray troll rolled his eyes.

"It's a wonder you're not on the king's council with all your powerful speaking!" he snorted.

"If you don't mind, I have to get back to work! Good afternoon."

"I feel sorry for you, uncle. Why can't you accept my invitation, just this once?"

"Good afternoon..."

"Fine. Seeing as you won't humor me any further, I wish you a Merry Trollmas!"

"Good afternoon!"

"And a Happy New Year!"  
"GOOD AFTERNOON!"

The glitter troll left after a quick "Merry Trollmas!" to Biggie, who eagerly returned it.

Branch waited exactly twenty seconds before deeming it safe to return to his desk.

But as soon as he turned around, the door banged open again.

This time, it was two other trolls, collecting buttons for the poor.

One was Dr. Plum Plimsy, the resident doctor for Troll Village, while the other was Rudy, an avid athlete.

"Ah, good day, Mr. Branch!" Plum greeted.

"We're going around trying to raise a fund for the poor. Many don't have medical supplies!"

"Or toys!" Rudy burst in.

Branch kept his face indifferent as he returned, "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"

"Uh, yes. Plenty of prisons and workhouses. I know that you believe many must go there, and that's the problem: TOO many go there. There's not enough room, and many are turned away. They want to die!" Plum returned, taken aback.

"THEN THEY HAD BETTER DO IT! THERE'S TOO MANY TROLLS, IN MY OPINION!"

A look of unfathomable sadness came into both the purple and orange troll's eyes.

"...Very well. If we can't get anywhere with you, we'll just move on," spoke Rudy.

They turned and left, to the smug satisfaction of the gray troll.

All this happened around 2:00 PM.

Time passed, Branch counted his money, and Biggie tried as ever to keep warm.

At long last the clock read 5:55, only five minutes until the giant troll could go home.

His excitement getting the best of him, Biggie summoned his courage and approached Branch.

"Um...excuse me, sir?"

Branch grunted in reply.

"Might you pay me a bit early? I want to get home to Harper. She's ill, and-"

Biggie yelped when Branch slammed his hands on the table and got up.

"Is it not enough that I hired you?! Next thing you know you'll want to have tomorrow off!"

"Well...it is Trollmas, sir."

His boss growled in frustration.

"Fine! But I expect you here at 5:00 the day after, instead of the usual 5:30!"

"Oh, thank you, sir! I will be on time, I swear!"

Branch didn't answer, crossing the room, picking up fifty buttons, and thrusting them to Biggie.

Feeling giddy, the giant troll raced out, and in celebration of the season, slid down a frozen slide on the way to his pod.

Branch, meanwhile, locked up his bank, and started home.

Little did he know of the ghostly events to follow...

 **A.N. Read and review! What did you think?**


	3. The Ghost of Smidge

**A.N. Again, no reviews. Oh well. And for those of you waiting on "SaSftSP," I AM working on the next chapter, but inspiration is slow.**

Now, Branch didn't live in a pod like the rest of the village.

Instead, he lived in a bunker.

The bunker was HUGE, filled with food, a sleeping hammock, a gym...and even a shelf where he kept his lost love Poppy's invitations.

Branch shuddered at his big mistake, before continuing down to the forest floor.

As he walked through the trees to his bunker, he had an unnerving feeling of someone watching him.

Seeing as he's not only miserly but also prepared, he gray troll did a thorough check of the area.

"Hm, must've been my imagination..." he muttered, and continued on his way.

Within the last stretch, a voice whispered through the trees.

" _Branch..."_

Branch looked wildly around.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

After thirty seconds of silence, the gray troll shrugged it off as him hearing things.

When his bunker was in sight, he heard the voice again, louder and distinctly deep.

" _Branch!"_

Feeling a panic attack coming on, Branch sprinted toward his bunker, but not before hearing the voice yell.

" _BRAAAANCH!"_

As soon as the last call to him rang out, the fake doorknob the gray troll put on a boulder to fool everyone began to morph into a new shape.

It was a troll's head!

But not just any troll...it was Smidge!

The very troll who died seven years ago on Trollmas Eve!

She was definitely recognizable; her tall blue hair, pink bow, and pale yellow skin making her distinguishable.

She looked at him with such a gaze of contempt that it shook Branch to his very core.

And almost as soon as it appeared, the ghostly vision vanished.

The gray troll paled, but with a quick assertion that he was hallucinating, he strode inside and activated the elevator.

"Is it just me, or does my bunker seem spookier this evening...?" Branch mused, for the structure was darker and more chilled than usual.

Nonetheless, the elevator stopped at the ground floor and the gray troll went to his fireplace, where a hot cup of tea and a book was waiting.

"Ah, nothing like a warm fire, a good book, and a hot drink!" Branch sighed.

He started to read a story about two trolls going on an adventure to save their friends from Bergens, when a sound came into his sensitive hearing.

But it wasn't just any sound.

 _It was the sound of dragging chains._

And when the chair turned around as if a ghostly force was moving it, Branch found himself looking into the face of Smidge.

The gray troll was frozen in terror.

"I'm crazy...I'm crazy..." he muttered to himself.

The tiny ghost sighed, and said in a deep voice, "What's your problem? Don't you recognize me?"

When all the apparition got in response was a head shake, an irritated scowl found its way upon her face.

"I think you do...it's me, Smidge!"

Branch shook his head again.

"You can't be! Ghosts aren't real! I'm dreaming! I've gone insane!" he forced out.

"NO, YOU HAVEN"T!" Smidge boomed and shook her chains.

The sight was so terrifying that Branch cowered in his chair and screamed.

"I believe! But why are you here? And why do you have those chains?"

The transparent troll floated past Branch to the wall, and leaned a hand against it.

"Tell me, comrade...why are trolls placed upon the earth?" asked Smidge as if she didn't hear him.

"Er, to make a name for themselves?"

"WRONG! Wrong, wrong, wrong! They're meant to be charitable, friendly, and being put on this planet is their test! And as you can see," the dead troll sighed and gestured to her chains, "I failed."

Branch was gobsmacked.

"Wait, are you telling me that you bear those chains for your lifestyle?"

His former partner nodded.

"Every chain link you see is a selfish action. Until I died, I had no idea that this terrible weight would be bestowed upon my ghostly form. I can never tarry in one place for too long, for I am cursed to see the bad in the world, and what I could've done to prevent it."

Smidge shuddered.

"...It is the worst punishment any selfish troll will face. And soon, you will join us, with twice the weight you see here!"

The enlightened troll gasped.

"NO!"

"That's why I am here! There's a chance you can escape this heinous fate!"  
"Thank you, Smidge. You always were a good friend to me."

Smidge gasped as her chains began to gravitate toward the surface.

"Hear me, my time is nearly gone! You will be visited by four spirits! The first two at 1:00 tonight!"

The chains pulled harder.

"The third at 2:00!"

Smidge struggled with all her might.

"The fourth at 3:00!"

The chains pulled her quickly towards the surface.

"WITHOUT THEIR HELP, YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE THE CHAINS!" Smidge screamed out as her last words.

Branch stared after her, shaken.

"I'm going to bed, I'm going to wake up, and this'll all be a dream," he tried to assure himself.

"Right?"


	4. The First Two Spirits

**A.N. Hey, I DID tell you I'd try to get this done before Christmas! I'm probably going to fail though. And don't worry Link Fangirl 01, I fixed the typo right before this chapter was posted! And thanks for your kind words! But just so you know, I have a specific plan for this story, so I made a slight change to Smidge's final words. You may want to read them again.**

Branch tossed and turned in his bed, his thoughts echoing with the ominous warning Smidge gave him.

"Could it be true? Am I doomed to wander as a ghost? Or...was I just seeing things?" he muttered.

At last, he sat up.

"If I'm to believe it, I would have to see the first two spirits appear before me!"

Branch sat awake for almost an hour, but his drowsiness got the better of him and he fell asleep just as his bedside clock read midnight.

* * *

 _BONG!_

Branch jolted awake!

"Wha-what's going on? Wait, I don't live near the surface! How could I have heard the village's bell tower?" he freaked.

The gray troll panicked for a split second more when he remembered Smidge's words.

"The first two spirits will arrive...at 1:00 tonight..." Branch mused.

He looked around for any sign of a ghostly presence.

When the survivalist laid eyes on his bedside candle, he noticed it light up of its own accord!

The smoke started to form into two ethereal figures, and before he could blink there were two lovely trolls floating in front of him.

Branch stared for a moment or two, taking in their physical appearance.

He noticed that one was pink with blue eyes and a nose, while the other was the exact opposite.

And based on their conjoined hair, he could assume that they were twins.

The pink one spoke.

"Good evening, Mr. Branch. I am Satin-"

"-and I am Chenille," the other finished.

"We are the Ghosts of Trollmas Past!" they said in unison.

Stunned by their very appearance before him, the gray troll could only stutter out, "L-long p-p-past?"

"No. YOUR past," Satin corrected.

"Arise, Mr. Branch, and walk with us!" called Chenille, and the twins seized his arms and dragged him from his bed.

"But I am mortal, and cannot fly or walk through stone!" the gray troll protested, startled.

"A touch of our hands on your heart," the twins did so here, "and you will be like us as long as this night holds up..."

Before Branch knew it, he was flying though stone, up to the surface, and into the sky.

When the trio finally landed, the gray troll noticed where they were.

"Why, this is the Troll Tree! I was a boy here!" he exclaimed.

The twins smiled knowingly and pointed to a familiar set of trolls.

Branch smiled as he recognized his formerly-teal self and the Snack Pack playing in the snow.

"These are shadows of what has already happened," Satin explained.

"They cannot see or hear us," supported Chenille.

"Come, let us see another Trollmas!" they chorused.

They flew to the school pod, where a lone gray teenage troll stood studying.

Branch's face fell.

"This is after my grandma died..." he murmured.

Suddenly, the pod's door banged open, and a small smile found its way on to the teenage troll's face as he noticed a purple troll girl running towards him.

"What are you doing here, little Twig?" he asked as he hugged his little sister.

The current Branch smiled.

His only light in the world after his grandma got eaten was his sister.

They lived together with their great uncle Oak, who was as strict as strict could be.

"You're coming home for Trollmas!" Twig cheered.

"Great uncle Oak has been much kinder, and when I asked him if you could celebrate Trollmas with us, he said yes!"

The teenage Branch smiled and hugged his sister all the more tighter.

"Thank you..." he murmured.

The invisible Branch grinned and felt a tear come to his eye.

"Isn't that the sweetest thing?" he vaguely heard Satin coo.

Chenille nodded in agreement.

The survivalist's face fell when he realized what happened once he was all grown up.

"Would you happen to remember what eventually happened to Twig?" he heard the spirits ask.

"Yes...she married a silver glitter troll and died while giving birth to my nephew Guy Diamond..." whispered Branch.

"He reminds me so much of her...that's why I don't try to humor him."

Satin and Chenille nodded sympathetically.

The blue twin snapped her fingers, and the threesome found themselves in a different, much larger pod.

"Is this...the palace?" Branch marveled.

He allowed the spirits to guide him through a wall to an extravagant room.

And there, sitting at the head of a dining table was-

"King Peppy!" a bright purple troll ran through Branch.

"I've finished my work!"

The old king looked up with a beam on his face, while the miserly troll scowled at recognizing his old rival.

"Very nice! And what about your coworker, Mr. Creek Wilkins?"

The calm troll scoffed.

"Branch? He's still cooped up! Claims "there's too much to do!" and that "the Bergens are coming!"

"What? It's Trollmas Eve, no one is working at this time!" Peppy said appalled.

There was a sudden knock at the door.

"That'll be my daughter. Creek, let her in, while I try and get Branch out here."

Creek nodded earnestly and opened the door to the beautiful Princess Poppy, aka the greatest party planner in the history of Trolldom!

"Hey Creek! What's up? And where's Dad?" she questioned at rapid fire speed, looking around.

"Oh, trying to get my sourpuss coworker out of his office," Creek grumbled.

"No matter, we'll set up without him...although I've never met your coworker," admitted the princess.

"Trust me, you don't want to..." asserted the calm troll.

The conversation turned to the party planning process, Poppy coordinating everything and Creek and the rest of the workers who trickled out of their offices setting up.

During all this, the current Branch was looking longingly at Poppy.

"Ah yes," said Satin.

"She is your lost love, is she not?" inquired Chenille.

"...Yes. If only she would take me back," whispered the gray troll forlornly.

The twins sighed.

"Well, we should probably speed things up. Our time only lasts an hour," explained Satin, and snapped her fingers.

The trio jumped to when the party was half way over.

Trolls were mingling, the band was playing (with Beat, the father of Suki as the conductor, of course!) and, at the entrance, a certain king and gray troll were making their way in.

The twins and Branch walked over to hear what they were saying.

"I TOLD you King Peppy, I don't. do. parties," fumed the younger Branch.

"And I told YOU, my boy, that no one should be working on Trollmas Eve. Will you at least TRY and enjoy yourself?"

"No."

"Please?"  
"NO."

"What if I introduce you to someone?" Peppy pointed a finger.

"I told you-whoa..."

Branch looked up, and he met the eyes of the most beautiful troll he's ever seen.

"That's my daughter," the adult Branch vaguely heard his boss say.

The world slowed down around him, and he approached her.

"Uh...hi?" he greeted, it sounding more like a question.

A soft smile found its way onto Poppy's face.

"Hi, what's your name?" she inquired.

"Branch," said the past counterpart, averting his eyes and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Poppy giggled.

"I like it. Hey, are you new here? I've never seen you before."

"Uh...no. I'm...Creek's coworker..." Branch heard himself choke out.

"It's odd. Creek told me I wouldn't want to meet you..."

"Er...yeah. I can be a bit tough to get along with at times."

Poppy took Branch's hand.

"Well, you don't seem that way to me..."

Branch blushed, and before he could stop himself, recited one of his original poems.

"I need the starshine of your heavenly eyes...after the day's great sun..."

"Ooh, a romantic..." murmured the princess, drawing him closer.

The current Branch looked on at their flirting with nostalgia in his eyes.

"We danced all that evening...and then...with her father's permission, of course...I asked her to be my girlfriend."

"Yes...let us go on!" commanded the twins.

Branch, Satin, and Chenille now appeared in a bank, where two trolls were working.

One was small, gruff, and yellow, while the other was tall, lean, and had a tint of blue to him.

Branch recognized them instantly.

"This is me and my partner Smidge! Our first business started here!" said the time-traveling troll, with just a touch of pride in his voice.

The past Smidge was filing paperwork silently, while the past Branch at the moment was doing some button conversions.

"Okay so, fifty bronze is a half of a silver, one hundred silvers make a gold..." he was muttering.

He looked up when he heard the door open.

"Poppy..." he breathed, and went to meet her.

The present Branch, on the other hand, gaped in horror.

He turned to Satin and Chenille.

"No...NO! Not THIS day!" he strained to get out, and tried to avert his eyes.

"Do not turn away, Branch!" the twins raised their voices in unison, and the severity of their tones forced him to look upon the nightmarish event.

At the moment, Poppy was talking to the past Branch with tears in her eyes.

"I am releasing you from your promise, my love..."

"What promise?" The somewhat-gray troll asked confused.

"...The promise to marry me."  
"Have I ever sought release?"

"In words. no. In actions, yes."

"What actions, then?" The flabbergasted troll demanded.

Poppy looked at him forlornly.

"Look around you, Branch. Your business, your money, has replaced me in your heart."

"No, Poppy! You don't know what the world is like! I'm doing this for us!" the desperate past counterpart pleaded.

"No, you're doing this for you! And since you love money so much, here is another meaningless scrap!" The princess shot back, thrusting the ring he used to propose to her.

"Your ring back. May it bring you happiness," her voice broke, and she glared at him for a final time.

"Goodbye, Branch..."

Sobs heaved from her body as she ran back outside.

The current Branch was crying as hard as his love.

"Why must you torture me with these visions?!" he screamed at the spirits, tears blurring his vision.

When he wiped them away, he found himself in his bunker.

Branch noticed the post come in through the letter shoot, but before he could get to it, a gray troll reached it.

"More invitations..." the past Branch mummured.

He froze, when one in particular caught his eye.

"You are invited to...the wedding of Poppy and CREEK?!"

His temper flared, and the heartbroken troll stomped on the wedding invitation, his colors fading even more.

The present Branch closed his eyes as he painfully remembered that day, and when he opened them, he found himself back in bed with the candle lit.

As he stared at it, he could've SWORN he saw the silhouettes of the Ghosts of Trollmas Past!

"These are the shadows of the things that were!" exclaimed Satin.

"They are what they are!" continued Chenille.

"DO NOT BLAME US!" They finished together. and Branch, frightened, snuffed the candle out and buried himself in his covers hoping to get some more sleep.

He completely forgot, however, of the two spirits to follow...

 **A.N. What do you think so far? Read and Review...please? BUT NO FLAMES! Oh, and the poem excerpt comes from Charles Hanson Towne. BONUS QUESTION: Who do you think acts as the next Spirit? Those who answer correctly get a virtual hug and cookie!**


	5. The Third Spirit

**A.N. Well, no one guessed...oh well, you'll find out who it is in this chapter! Oh, and I realized that I deviated from my plan again, so just for future reference, instead of Suki conducting, it's her father Beat. And in response to my reviews:**

 **Link Fangirl01: For some reason, I LIKE having my readers feel like that. MWAHAHAHAHA! I'm so evil aren't I?! But don't worry, there WILL be a happy ending.**

 **TideRider 925: I love that story too, it's a classic! Thank you! And I will! Though it may not be finished by Christmas, fair warning...**

When Branch awoke again, it was to the chime of two bells.

"Okay Branch, after this one, there's one more, and I'll be home free," he tried to reassure himself.

He gazed around slowly, but no spirit appeared.

Instead, he saw an unbearable light coming from his storeroom.

And was that laughter he heard?

"I have no idea why I'm doing this..." groaned the gray troll as he crept out of bed and to the door.

When he opened it, instead of his usual food of berries and nuts, he saw tables laden with goodies, fizzy things to drink, and in the center of it all...

"Wait! Are you...a LLAMA TROLL?!" he asked the pink-striped, long-necked, blue-haired, goofy-grinned creature.

"We haven't seen one of your kind in-"

"A century! I know! Come in and know me better, Branch!" the strange-looking troll laughed.

Branch, not knowing what to do, did as the spirit said.

"Who ARE you?" he asked.

"Cooper's the name, Ghost of Christmas Present's the game!" answered the spirit, dancing a little jig.

"I'm here to show you the joys, pleasantries, and PRESENTries the Present has to offer! A-ha! Get it?" chortled Cooper.

Branch hung his head.

"Spirit, take me where you will. If you have a lesson, I'd like to benefit from it," he mumbled.

"Very well. Climb on!" Cooper beckoned, extending his back to the gray troll.

Taken aback, Branch could only stutter, "Are you sure? Is that polite?"

"Of course!"

And with that, the spirit seized Branch's nightshirt in his teeth and plopped him on his back.

The duo went to the elevator, and Branch activated it.

A short ride later, they were at the surface, and they went through the trap door.

Trolls everywhere were singing, dancing, hugging, and wishing each other a merry Trollmas.

Branch glanced around in wonder.

"Is it-"

"Trollmas Day? Mm-hm! And just like before, no one knows we're here!"

Cooper and Branch went around, seeing children throwing snowballs, adults caroling, and a huge Trollmas tree in each house.

On the way, the gray troll noticed the spirit nudging each troll they passed.

"Spirit, why are you doing that?" he asked confusedly.

"What? This?" Cooper asked, nudging a poor troll.

"I'm giving them a little more Trollmas Spirit! That poor one needs it most though. Her husband died and there's not enough money to buy dinner."  
The llama troll frowned as he glanced back.

"Anyway, my time is short! And our destination should be coming up right...about...NOW!"

The duo found themselves in front of a shabby blue and hot pink pod.

"Spirit, who does this pod belong to? I've never seen it before!" asked Branch.

"Climb off, and look inside. I think you'll recognize the owner..." Cooper answered cryptically, and nudged Branch forward.

The gray troll did so, and to his surprise, he saw Biggie, his very own clerk!

The giant troll at the moment was helping his wife Suki cook dinner, with Mr. Dinkles on his shoulder.

One of their children, Moxie was dancing to a fiddle her little sister Glimmer was playing.

Glimmer was a pink troll with green ponytails, and her greatest wish was to be in the music business.

Aspen, on the other hand, was-

"No skitterboarding in the house!" called Suki, without turning around.

"Aw, mom!"

"Your mother's right. Put that away before someone gets hurt. And besides, Trollmas dinner is almost ready!" announced Biggie.

Aspen brightened up at the thought of delicious food, and ran straight away to do as his father asked.

Meanwhile, Branch turned to the spirit.

"How can they be so happy if they are so poor?" he asked.

"They focus on the good and simple things in life," was Cooper's short answer.

He gestured with one foot for the miserly troll to continue watching.

Inside the pod, dinner was just being set on the table.

"Kids! Dinner's ready!" called Suki.

Three children ran excitedly to their chairs, and Biggie put a bowl of worm food in front of his pet.

"Now, where's our Little Harper?" he wondered.

His question was answered when footsteps and a tap of a crutch was heard of the stairs.

"Here I am, Father!" a little voice called out, a bout of coughs followed, and there she was.

Harper was a small troll who loved to paint, and as such there were splotches of paint all over her body and her hair.

But the saddest thing about her was that her right leg had a metal brace on it, and she was walking with a crutch due to peripheral arterial disease! **(Long story short, it causes not enough blood to go to the leg, causing pain. It can be fatal if left untreated.)**

Her family was worried, for Biggie didn't earn enough buttons to pay for treatment.

To make matters worse, Harper had been battling a nasty cold due to being outside for too long.

Biggie stepped up to meet his youngest daughter and helped her to the table.

Branch was taken aback.

"Biggie never told me Harper was ill!" he exclaimed.

"He tried. You wouldn't listen," Cooper replied, gazing at the child with pity.

As soon as the painter troll was seated, Biggie stood up.

"Now, to open the finest Trollmas dinner in the village, I say we should all give thanks to the ancestors of those who have left us."

As soon as the daily grace was said, Biggie lifted up his glass.

"I propose a toast: To Mr. Branch Scrooge, the founder of this feast!" (The gray troll looked on in astonishment at the mention of his name.)

As he looked around at his family, he noticed that besides his own, no other glasses were lifted.

Suki stood up.

"To Mr. Branch, indeed! If he was here now, I'd let him feast upon a piece of my mind! And for desert: my fist!" she growled.

The giant troll sent a disapproving glance towards his hot pink wife.

"Dear...it's Trollmas. Yes, he may be horrible to me, but still!"

The other trolls looked at each other, before...

"Oh, very well. To Mr. Branch Scrooge! May the ancestors bless him!" Suki burst out, and the rest of the family swiftly repeated.

"And may the ancestors bless us all!" called out Harper, the final voice in the matter.

The touching moment was interrupted, however, as another bout of coughs, harsher than the first, broke its way out of the little troll's body.

Alarmed, Biggie went around the table and rubbed his daughter's back, tears coming to everyone's eyes.

Branch cringed at the bad coughs, and turned to Cooper.

"Cooper, will Little Harper live?" he asked, his voice breaking.

"If these shadows remain unchanged by the future...I see an empty chair at the table...and a crutch without an owner..." was the llama troll's sorrowful reply.

"But what of it? If she is to die, then she _had better do it! There's too many trolls in my opinion!"_

Cooper glared at Branch, while the gray troll looked down in horror.

"You mock me with my own words! She's just a child, Spirit! She CAN't die!"

"WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE WHO WILL LIVE AND WHO WILL DIE?!" burst out the llama troll with unnatural fury.

The survivalist looked down in fear and shame at Cooper's rebuke.

"Come, Mr. Branch. There's still one place yet to see. Unfortunately, we'll have to walk there. I'm getting too old to bear you upon my back."

The gray troll looked at the spirit as they continued on, and could not deny that he looked much older than when they first met.

His skin was thinning, and his fur and hair were whitening in color.

Eventually they reached an extravagant pod, where a festive Trollmas party was taking place.

And who was the host?

Why, it was none other than Branch's own nephew, Guy Diamond!  
At the moment, the guests were playing game of 10 Questions (a harder version of 20 Questions), with the silver glitter troll as "it."

"Mineral?" asked Angus, the miner.

"Nope!"

"Vegetable?" asked Karma.

"Not even close!" laughed Guy.

"Person?" asked Ginger Jo, the pet store owner.

"You could say that..."

"Animal?" asked Maddy, the hairstylist.

"Yes!" answered Guy.

"Livestock?" asked Zeke, the farmer.

"Nope!"

"Does this animal walk on two legs?" asked Dr. Plum.

"You're getting warmer!" teased the glitter troll.

"Does this animal snort and growl?" asked Rudy.

"Affirmative! Better be careful everyone, only three questions left!" Guy announced.

"OOH, OOH! I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW!" shouted out Mandy, the handytroll standing on her chair.

"IT"S YOUR UNCLE BRANCH!"

"YES!"

The room erupted in laughs and cheers.

Branch, on the other hand, was shocked and saddened that his own nephew thought of him in this way.

Back inside, Guy Diamond was telling the story of how his uncle rejected him, complete with a perfect impression.

When he finished, nearly everyone had split their sides laughing.

"How could he refuse such a wonderful party?" giggled Mandy.

"Beats me! I invite him every year!"

"Does he truly believe Trollmas a humbug?"

"Sure does! I can't imagine why!"

Chatter of that sort continued until, after a few more games, they sat down to dinner.

"Since he has given us so much merriment this fine evening, I propose a toast to Uncle Branch, wherever he may be!" sang out Guy Diamond.

"To Uncle Branch!" his guests echoed.

When the survivalist turned back to his guide, he noticed that the llama troll's fur had gone completely white.

He also became aware that they were not in the village!  
Instead, they were in an abandoned glade!

"Spirit, where are we?"

"Where you'll meet your next guide..." answered Cooper.

Instead of his lively young voice, he spoke in a soft elderly one.

"Are all spirits' lives this short?" Branch asked.

"Only mine and my brethren. We live only one Trollmas, and then perish until another ghost is born to take the previous' place."

Branch was shocked by this revelation, to say the least!

Before he could say anything else, he noticed his attention focused on two ghastly shadows beneath Cooper's belly.

When he leaned closer to get a better look, he noticed two horribly deformed troll children, one boy and one girl.

"Spirit, are they yours...?" the survivalist gasped in astonishment.

"They are Trollkind's. The boy is Ignorance, the girl Want. Beware them both...but beware the boy most of all. It is because of him that sick trolls die!"

"You can't be talking about Harper!"

"My realm is the present. THE FUTURE DRAWS NIGH!" were Cooper's last words before the bell tower struck twelve and he faded into oblivion.

The sight of him fading shocked Branch so much that he didn't even hear the ominous footsteps behind him...until a giant shadow fell on top of him.

 **A.N. Well, there's the Present. It may be scary, but that's how the original went. Who do you think is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be? P.S. I think I WILL be able to finish this by Christmas!**


	6. The Fourth Spirit

**A.N. Here's the next chapter! And in response to my reviews...**

 **Link Fangirl01: Just for future reference: Try favoriting and following this. Some people such as myself check other people's favorite stories list. Yeah, it is sad, but Dickens called him the Ghost of Christmas PRESENT for a reason. And don't worry, I may be evil, but I'm not THAT evil.**

 **TideRider 925: Yeah. Tbh, I was originally intending on making him Biggie, but then I realized that since the lovable lug can be a bit shy, he would be better suited as Bob Cratchit. Thanks! And don't worry, anything for my readers!**

Branch turned around slowly...and there...standing above him, was a-

"B-b-b-b-b-b-ber-" he stuttered, to the amusement of the horrible bloodthirsty creature above him.

"BERGEN..." she growled.

With one quick grasp, she took hold of the gray troll and pulled him up to her face.

Branch was paralyzed in stark terror, his skin paling, his eyes wide, and he could've sworn his heart stopped.

He could see who held him clearly now, and observed her evil yellow eyes, purple skin, and tall chef hat.

"P-p-p-please d-d-don't e-eat m-m-m-me!" the survivalist stuttered.

"Now...why would I do that?" Chef asked in a sickeningly sweet tone.

She broke an evil grin and started walking.

"I'm on a...SPECIAL mission to show you the consequences of your actions..."

"A-a-are y-you t-t-t-the t-third s-s-spirit...?"

"Indeed I am...the Ghost of Trollmas Yet To Be..." the evil Bergen hissed.

"I f-fear y-y-you m-more th-than a-a-any s-spirit I-I've m-m-met t-tonight..." quivered Branch.

The spirit looked at him in annoyance.

"Oh, cease your stuttering! You'll find more than enough to be scared of where I'm taking you..."

As it turns out, she was taking him back to the village.

"Observe well," commanded Chef, as she thrust the hand holding him in front of a quartet of trolls.

"I personally thought he'd NEVER die..." sighed Rudy in relief.

"I know, right? Wonder what he did with all his buttons...?" asked Angus.

"Beats me! All I know is that he never gave them to the poor!" exclaimed Plum.

"Or to me!" broke in Karma.

"Well, either way, it's likely to be a VERY cheap funeral. The old tightwad would've wanted it that way..." snorted Rudy.

The other three nodded in agreement.

"Any of you attending?" asked Angus again, to a chorus of denials.

They continued to talk about the dead troll until they dispersed to go their separate ways.

The gray observer, on the other hand, was confused.

"I recognize them...but who are they talking about? What can I learn from this?" he asked the Bergen Spirit.

"You'll find out soon enough..." she answered cryptically.

She turned, took a few more steps, and Branch found himself placed in front of a new location.

In here, were three more trolls.

One, he recognized as Scrap, the pawn shop owner.

The other two, however, were completely unrecognizable.

One was a red male troll with hair that was green streaked with black.

The other was a female troll that looked nearly identical to the male, except her hair was streaked with white and gray.

"Now, what's your haul today, my turbulent twins?" Scrap was asking his business partners.

Branch stared in astonishment, for he never saw twins that were separate.

The male chortled gleefully.

"Have we got some stuff for you! A well-kept shirt, the bed sheets, and a pocket watch off ol' Whatshisname!"

"And the good news is, he won't be needing THESE. He's DEAD!" broke in the female.

All three laughed loudly in unison, while the gray troll blanched.

"Stealing property from a dead troll? That's disgraceful! Could it be that this fate will be my own?" he asked his ghastly guide.

"Save your questions until the end, please!" snapped Chef.

Branch quickly nodded his head and kept an eye out for their next destination.

He got thrust in front of Biggie's pod, which he recognized instantly from the faded colors.

But he had no idea that every troll inside would be gray!

Every troll being Suki, Aspen, Moxie, Glimmer, and the grayest of all, Biggie...for they were seated in front of a memorial consisting of a tiny chair...and a tiny crutch.

All were silent, until Moxie spoke.

"She always loved this time of year..." she murmured.

Everyone sadly nodded in agreement.

Another moment of silence passed, until Biggie spoke up, trying to remain positive.

"Come now everyone, she would not want us to mourn for...too...long..."

His voice caught, and he collapsed in sobs.

"Oh, my little daughter...Harper...she was so young!" he cried.

The family gathered around the patriarch, trying to sooth him while fighting their own tears back.

Branch found himself breaking down too.

"Oh my! This is my doing isn't it?! But answer me, who is the troll who died? I must know!"

With no answer coming, the survivalist looked to Chef's face...only to find that she was gone and he was standing in front of a specific grave...

A hooded specter came towards him with a scythe...

 _The Grim Reaper._

The horrible bringer of death pointed to the grave before him, and an unearthly force forced Branch to look.

 _Here Lies Branch Scrooge, a miserly troll beloved by no one._

Branch was so overcome by stark terror with the inscription that he fell to his knees.

"It's me...I'm the troll who died..." he murmured.

"Little Harper died because of me...oh for troll's sake..."

His colors faded even more for the realization of what he had done, and he screamed the following words to the ancestors.

"I SEE NOW! I SEE THE ERROR OF MY WAYS! IT'S MY FAULT! IF I LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY, I WILL KEEP THE SPIRIT OF TROLLMAS IN MY HEART ALL YEAR LONG! I HAVE LEARNED FROM THE SPIRITS OF THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE!"

The survivalist turned to the Reaper.

"Please spare me! I will change!" he tearfully begged.

What he wasn't expecting, however, was the figure to speak with a horribly familiar voice...

"Oh, I will spare you..." the voice said, and pulled back her hood.

 _It was his Grandma Rosiepuff._ **(Oooookkaaaayyy, maybe I AM that evil. I deviated from my plan just a little. Hopefully it won't scar you guys...)**

"Grandma...?" Branch tried to speak, but his breath was taken away.

His beloved grandmother looked at him coldly.

"Yes, Branch. I will spare you..." she pointed above him, "but SHE WON'T!"

The scarred-for-life gray troll looked above him to see the Bergen Chef.

He shrieked in terror to see a big meaty hand coming for him.

The hand picked him up...brought him to the horrible face...opened her mouth...and-

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Branch yelled, bolting upright.

He looked around.

"I'm...I'm alive..." he whispered in disbelief.

"And...I'm at home!"


End file.
